After a year of missed sports, virtual birthday parties and Zoom learning, your kids are probably itching to get back to normal life. And now that pandemic restrictions are starting to lift, they may be closer than ever to scratching that itch.
But there’s a catch. Yes, millions of Americans have been vaccinated against COVID-19, but there’s one group still stuck on the waiting list: children under 12. And without their shots, they still run the risk of coronavirus infection.
The percentage of COVID-19 cases among young people is rising. Last year at this time, children accounted for only 3% of new cases. But by late July 2021, that share rose to 16.8% in states that release data by age, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Some studies even suggest that kids older than 10 may be capable of spreading the virus as easily as adults.
The high ratio of kids’ infections is partly due to the drop in cases among older, vaccinated Americans. While this means that our little ones still need protecting, it’s also a positive sign that the vaccines are working. (Another thing that works: Optum Perks. Download our app and start saving on prescription medication today.)
As we look ahead to the fall, parents have lots of lingering questions. There are still risks to be aware of, such as new COVID-19 variants and fewer restrictions on school activities. Here’s what we know so far:
Why haven’t all children been allowed to get the COVID-19 vaccine?
Studies are still being done to make sure the vaccine is safe for younger kids.
Clinical trials usually split volunteers into 2 groups; 1 group gets the real vaccine, while the other group gets a placebo. Then scientists compare the number of people in each group who get COVID-19, along with the severity of their symptoms.
Based on this process, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use late last year for people 16 and older. More recently, based on newer data showing the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness, the FDA expanded approval to children as young as 12.
This new emergency use authorization means we now know the vaccine is safe and effective for people ages 12 and older. But children under 12 were not included in this research, so we still don’t know how their bodies will react to the vaccine. And as a result, they’re still not cleared to receive it.
But that should change soon. The drug companies Pfizer and Moderna are currently running trials in young children. (Stay up to date on the latest coronavirus vaccine news here.)
Is it normal for kids to be kept out of initial clinical trials?
“This is how trials are [usually] done,” says Leana Wen, MD, an emergency physician and public health professor at George Washington University. “Unless the illness occurs only in children, trials are done in adults first. Then they slowly transition to younger age groups.”
This helps ensure that the vaccine doesn’t trigger side effects that show up in children only. “Children are not just little adults,” says Dr. Wen. Their growing bodies are different. And the way they respond to vaccines may be different too.
When will we know the trial results?
Pfizer has broken down its vaccine trials on younger children into 3 age groups:
- 6 months to 2 years old
- 2 to 5 years old
- 5 to 11 years old
The company hopes to publish results and seek emergency use authorization for kids ages 5 to 11 by October 2021. It hopes to do the same for children 6 months to 5 years shortly after.
Moderna is also in the process of running similarly phased trials for children.
Should you vaccinate your child against COVID-19 when you’re able to?
“Absolutely,” says Sean O’Leary, MD, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado Medical Campus and Children’s Hospital Colorado.
Vaccination in children is important for 2 reasons, says Dr. O’Leary, who specializes in infectious diseases. The first is about so-called herd immunity. This occurs when a large majority of people (including children) are vaccinated, making it harder for the virus to find hosts. Measles, mumps, polio and chicken pox are now rare in the U.S. because vaccines helped to establish herd immunity. In a nutshell: The more people we vaccinate, the more lives are saved.
But the second reason is that the shot protects children themselves. Roughly 600 children have died already this year, says Dr. O’Leary, and there have been tens of thousands of hospitalizations. “So we absolutely need a COVID-19 vaccine to protect kids,” he says.
